Tenant Paying Rent in a Lump Sum: Good or Bad Idea

[Chandler Corn]

I have a property that I rent to four college girls. One of them is using money from her financial aid assistance to pay rent. She recieves this rent in a lump sum and she asked if she could pay her whole rent for the remainder of the lease in one go. The four girls each contribute $400 to rent, and one of them sends the whole $1600 to me in one payment each month. So basically what she would do is pay me her whole rent from now until the end of the lease, and from then on, the remaining three girls would pay $1200/mo. Is this a bad idea? Does anyone have experience with this? It's a first for me. What are the pros/cons of doing this?

[Sharlene Mulchandani]

@Chandler Corn I think that her paying upfront might not be such a good idea. It would definitely make things messy if the tenant violates or breaks their lease agreement. Also, each state has varying rules regarding upfront rent payments, so I would double check your local and state laws if you're considering it.